


Happiness

by LBl



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Dad!Theon, Fluff, M/M, Past Thramsay (only mentioned)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-11
Updated: 2016-06-11
Packaged: 2018-07-14 10:45:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7167932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LBl/pseuds/LBl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It took him more than thirty years, but Theon Greyjoy finally found happiness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happiness

**Author's Note:**

> Dear Giftee, I'm sorry for it being so short, but I couldn't find the time to write more in the last month :(. However, I really loved writing Dad!Theon and I'm already working on a full-blown multi-chaptered fic explaining how Theon and Robb met and got together.  
> Anyway, I hope you'll like it, because I had a lot of fun writing it :).
> 
> Betaed by the wonderful janie_tangerine

When Theon opened his eyes, everything was dark and silent. He frowned, squinting in the dim light of the morning seeping through the cracks of his closed shutters. Sprawled beneath him, Robb was snoring, mouth slightly agape, and Theon didn’t even try to hide his smile. After all, who could see him in the darkness of their bedroom? Dipping his head, he pressed a small kiss to the corner of the other man’s jaw and turned around to glance at his alarm clock.

7:30

Fuck… What was he doing, up at such an ungodly hour on a Sunday? He tried to settle back, tugging a little at Robb’s arms, until the other spooned him in his sleep. Theon sighed in contentment, closed his eyes and burrowed himself deeper into his boyfriend.

But sleep was still escaping him. Theon felt hyper-aware of his surroundings, of Robb’s snoring, of the muffled sounds of the city outside, even of his own heart pounding in his chest. And he had that nagging feeling, tingling at the base of his neck as if to warn him of his impending doom. Spider sense, his geek side unhelpfully provided. But it didn’t mean it was totally wrong. Something was going to happen, Theon was sure of it. Something. Bad. Was. Going. To. Happen. Now!

Suddenly, the door burst open and a shadowy form jumped from behind it, landing square on his chest, effectively knocking the wind out of him. Theon exhaled with difficulty, before glancing down to the monster already wrapping himself around his torso. His ten-year old daughter looked up cheerily at him, her bright red hair shining in the dark room.

“Hello Dad, sleep well?”

Theon rolled his eyes, letting his head fall back against Robb’s shoulder with an annoyed grunt. _Parental sense_ , that was it, or in other words, how to foretell your offspring jumping you at the wee hours of the morning on a day off. Great…

“Sweetie, can you go back to your room and let us sleep? We’re tired, you know, lots of work. Don’t come back before at least 9:00, okay?” What was it with little kids and waking up early anyway?

“No.” Taura answered calmly, octopussing his father a bit more. “You promised we’d cook breakfast together today. So I won’t move until you come with me.” Theon could feel her smirking against his chin. Of course, the little squid would stay right here, on top of Theon, crushing his ribs with all her weight until he yielded. Taura knew exactly how to get what she wanted and could be annoying to the extremes if she really put her back to it – and no, sorry Brienne and Robb, _it wasn’t some genetic quality inherited from his father, thank you very much_ –

“Seems like you’ll have to yield and get up.” Theon turned his eyes to face one light blue eye glinting back at him. Robb was smiling, the bastard.

“You could do it too, you’re raising her as well.”

“Maybe, but she’s asking for her Dad now. So, Love, hush and get up.” 

Robb punctuated his statement by pinching Theon’s side, before burrowing back into the bed, a satisfied smirk on his lips. Theon huffed at the betrayal, but didn’t retaliate right back; after all, vengeance is a meal best eaten cold and everything. Instead, he settled on sending his daughter away with the mission to set ingredients out for breakfast, and finally got up, snatching a shirt with a bit more force than necessary. Casting a last dark glance at his boyfriend, he bit out an “I hate you”, but even he could not find any real venom in the words.

oOo

As expected, Taura was in the kitchen, having already pulling everything out and beginning to expertly break eggs into a small yellow bowl.

“What are you doing?” Theon asked, examining the ingredients laid out on the counter.

“Pancakes, you dolt. Come and help me.”

Theon stuck his tongue out at the fake insult, making Taura chuckle, before joining her, the two of them quickly falling back into a practised rhythm honed by years after years of cooking together. Eventually Theon ended up cooking the pancakes on the stove, while Taura nicely set up the table for them to eat.

Glancing back at his daughter who was almost sticking her tongue out in her perfectionist effort to put the silverware parallel to the plate – another thing she most certainly didn’t inherit from Theon -, he found himself reflecting back on his past. 

After The Thing with Ramsay, the one he didn’t want to think about outside of his now monthly therapy sessions with Brienne, the blonde woman had become the closest thing he ever had of a friend and a family – not counting Asha, always sailing far away around the world, or his mentally ill mother who couldn’t even recognize him at the end – and even ended up by taking him in with her, feeding him, housing him and protecting him from the brutal outside world while he was picking up his shattered remnants. She had saved his life and Theon was insanely thankful to her, even if he never told her in such a bold way. It didn’t matter, she knew anyway. 

But, not even two years after, social services had come in, a little red-headed girl with shining green eyes trailing after them. Taura. Apparently, her mother had died in a car accident and since Theon was listed as her father, they were offering for him to take her. With a pang in his chest, Theon remembered how terrified he was of this little life; Hell, he barely even remembered her mother – a one-stand once upon a time with an easy smile and soft breasts –, wasn’t remembering much of his previous life at this point, only Ramsay and Ramsay and Ramsay again, of Reek and pain and cries and his blood spilled on the floor. _No, don’t think about all of this, it’s over, you made it through, you have a happy life now, that’s the only thing that matters._

Catching his breath, Theon focused back on the stove and frowned at the slightly overcooked pancakes. He slid them down on the waiting plate next to him and put on new ones to cook, slipping back down memory lane. He remembered panicking in the face of the social workers, yelling at them to take her back to where she came from, that he didn’t want to know her, didn’t even want to see her again. At that moment, he couldn’t think of anything else than sending the girl away. Because she was reminding him too much of his past life, of a time when he was handsome and lovely, of what he had before and would never have again now. 

But Brienne had stepped up, preventing him of doing the worst mistake of his life, even worse than that dreadful night where he talked to Ramsay in that shady bar. Letting Taura go. His friend had calmly stated she was a licensed therapist and thus perfectly qualified to raise a child as a foster mother. Theon never knew how she managed that feat after his initial outburst, but she did it anyway. Maybe, it was simply because she wasn’t the kind of woman you could say no to, maybe because whenever she thought herself on a mission, nothing or no one could stop her. But anyway, barely a month later, she had come home from the group home hand in hand with the little girl with the bright red hair.

oOo

_Theon hid the whole day in his room, only slinking out of it when he was sure it was late enough for the child to be sleeping in her newly installed room, in Brienne’s old office. He padded to the kitchen, trying to find something to eat. Not that he was that hungry, but Brienne would have his hide if he didn’t eat at least once a day. Taking out some ham and bread, he began to make himself a small sandwich when he felt a cold shiver running down his spine. Shoulders instinctively hunching up, he turned back to see Brienne standing arm-crossed in the doorway, so tall her blonde head almost grazed the top end of the frame. But instead of Ramsay’s cold stare, he was greeted by a gentle smile and soft blue eyes so full of love and understanding he almost bolted out of the room in shame._

_“She’s sleeping.” She whispered. “You should see her now, she’s so beautiful, like a little angel.”_

_Theon shrugged, finished his sandwich and carried it to the small kitchen island, where he sat, his back to Brienne. Taking a small bite – even two years later, his stomach still couldn’t bear too much food at once – he muttered:_

_“You know I didn’t want her.”_

_“I know.”_

_“I’m not ready for it.”_

_“I know.”_

_He suppressed a shiver when he felt her move behind him, but all she did was passing through to reach the seat at the opposite side of him. The sadness in her eyes made Theon look down in guilt. He slowly replaced a slice of ham into the bread, before speaking again._

_“I’ll probably never be.”_

_“I know.”_

_And then her hands were on his, slowly, so slowly taking the sandwich away. She put it back on the plate, before taking Theon’s hands back in hers. She squeezed them gently, stroking their backs with her thumbs until Theon found the courage to look back up at her._

_“But Taura is a little girl who lost her mother. She needs a home and a family, she needs to be loved and cared for. I know you don’t want her now, but I’m sure that, if you allow her to have a chance, she would give you back even more than everything you could give to her. I know a lot of people in child services. They won’t take her away, not now, not ever. So you can take your time Theon, because she’s not going anywhere. And call me a sentimental sap, but I really hope that one day, she can really be your daughter.”_

_She smiled brightly at Theon and, for the space of a minute, her broken face looked strikingly beautiful. Theon scrambled for his sandwich, eyes burning, still not able to process how someone could look like at him like that. Like he was a decent human being and not a creep, a freak … Reek…_

_“Don’t.” Brienne admonished him sternly, leaning over the table to tap at his forehead. “I know what you’re thinking Theon. And I can tell you, you’re worth it. You’re worth anything good happening to you.”_

_She stood up then, smoothing down her white button-down shirt._

_“Now, take that sandwich with you. We’re going to watch Love Actually together and no, don’t argue with me. I know you love that movie almost as much as I do. You’re just a closeted romantic, that’s all.”_

oOo

And from that day, Taura had been living with them.

At first, and for more than a year, Theon had avoided her, staying away from the little girl and running away in his room each time she called out to him. But every time he fled, Brienne was there, watching over Taura, helping her, kissing her, holding her hand at night after a nightmare and drying her tears every time she understood the man supposed to her father hated her.

oOo

_That happened until one night, when he was passing in front of Taura’s room, Theon heard muffled cries drifting through the closed door. He knew Brienne was working in her own office and any time other time, he would have gone to fetch her. But that day, guided by some kind of sick curiosity, he turned the handle and silently opened the door a crack, just enough to peek inside. Taura was crying, curled tight around her old fluffy dog, her still baby fat cheeks shining red with tears in the bunny-shaped night light._

_And suddenly, all Theon could see was himself, hiding away in his room, muffling his sobs in his own teddy bear lest his father heard him and came back to beat him again. He remembered how lonely he felt, when her mother had been sent away to a psychiatric hospital and he was left alone in his own home, between his abusing father and his two big brothers who liked to pull humiliating pranks on him. Even Asha was abandoning him, preferring to spend time with her friends far away from their grim house or training alone for her future enrolment in the Navy._

_And now, he was doing the same thing to his own daughter._

_He was leaving her to cry alone in her bed when he was supposed to be the one caring for her._

_Before he even knew it, he was crossing through the dark room and sitting up on the edge of the mattress next to her. Extending his hand, he tried to touch her cheek, but Taura flinched away and curled up even tighter on herself.  
Swallowing down around the lump of his throat, Theon let his hand fall back on his knee. He preferred to turn away and let his eyes wander aimlessly around the room full of brightly coloured toys and plushes. A particularly offending garish fluorescent blue fluffy squid was lying at his feet and Theon grabbed it, picking at the seams to keep his hands busy. His chest felt heavy with guilt and shame with the realisation he had never set foot in the room, not even once, in all the time Taura had been living with him._

_“I’m sorry.” He croaked. “I’m sorry I failed you. I failed a lot of people, you know. I.. I’m…”_

_He fought back the tears pressing behind his eyelids. Ramsay’s voice was in his ear, whispering his poisoned words, calling for his lost pet to come back to him._

_Theon shook his head and finally turned back towards Taura. The little girl had stopped crying, watching him with wide frightened eyes, probably wondering why he was suddenly talking to her after ignoring her for so long._

_“I’m sorry.” Theon repeated slowly, extending his hand again towards her and this time, Taura allowed him to stroke her arm. Her smooth skin felt warm and soft, so soft Theon spaced out for a moment. He startled when he felt chubby fingers close around his, urging him to go on._

_“I don’t know how to be a father. Hell, I barely know how to be a human being. But I will try. I will try to do right by you, because you deserve that. You deserve to have a real father, not the shadow of one. I just need time, okay? But I’ll be there one day, that I can swear it to you. One day, I’ll be your father.”_

_Taura didn’t say anything, just squeezed Theon’s hand. And, when he squeezed back, it felt like a promise between them._

oOo

Of course, things hadn’t turned easy by magic all of a sudden. Theon had stumbled and fallen many times on his path to fatherhood, but he had never looked back on his promise. He had learned how to talk to Taura, how to care for his daughter and be there whenever she needed him. He had tried his best and every time again Brienne was there, ushering him on the right path, patiently rehearsing everything until he felt confident enough to act by himself. Taura had helped out too, listening to him when he was clumsily stammering an order, patiently waiting for him to find her things when they were going outside, even climbing up onto his lap to hug him when he was having a breakdown. Of course, she also had her own fits sometimes, but she always knew how to stop when it was becoming too much for her father to handle.

Ultimately, the three of them had managed, tied together in a little uncommon family. And Brienne had been right, as always: in her own wonderful way, Taura had helped Theon to heal and get his life back on tracks. 

A little down the road, when Robb had come crashing into their life, with his irresistible baby blue eyes and his hopeless sense of justice and equality, the little squid even went as far as allying with Brienne to metaphorically kick Theon’s scared ass, effectively sending him tumbling down into Robb’s waiting arms. Theon never forgave them for pulling that stunt on him. – _Lies_ , he had, even offered Brienne flowers, but his fragile pride would never allow him to actually voice it.

And now, even if Brienne had left her old flat to Theon to move out to live with his own one-handed grumpy boyfriend, she was still a phone call away, ready to come back in the middle of the night if Theon ever needed her. Robb had moved in with them in her stead, to share Theon’s bed and raise Taura as her own too, bringing in his trail his large and admittedly sometimes invasive family – as well as Robb’s half-brother and Theon’s mock-bane of existence, the infamous Jon Snow.

oOo

Theon was suddenly dragged back to the present by small hands sliding around his waist and a head resting down on his hip, wild curls tickling his skin beneath his thin shirt. Looking down at Taura pressed against him, he gently ran a hand through the soft red hair, still half-lost in his thoughts. She didn’t say anything, instinctively understanding what was happening in her father’s head, and smiled brightly up at him.

“You’re burning the pancakes.” She whispered innocently and Theon’s head shot back to his pan.

“Fuck!” He yelled, sliding down two carbonized shrivelled disks of batter – one could not even call them pancakes anymore – on a fresh plate. He glared darkly at the offending pieces of wheat, Taura laughing uproariously at his side.

“What happened, Theon? Did these pancakes insult your mother or something?” Theon turned back to see Robb leaning on the counter, a big grin on his face.

“Shut up, you. You know, my cooking is always perfect.”

“Language, Dad.” Taura chided him, mock-slapping his leg, before taking the plates of – fortunately – correctly cooked pancakes to the table.

“Except these ones.” Robb added, grinning even wider.

Theon crossed his arms and snorted, not even caring at how ridiculous he looked, he, a full grown adult pouting in a white flour-streaked apron, his still oil-dripping spatula clutched in his hand.

“Says the one who couldn’t even cook to save his life. Seriously, if Catelyn, Sansa or Ygritte weren’t around to feed you before me, you would have starved to death alone in your apartment.”

“Yes, but now you’re here, with your perfect cooking talents to save me from a grim death.”

Robb stalked towards him, his grinning smile slowly changing to something darker and more dangerous, reminding Theon of a wolf ready to pounce on his prey. But, when a few years ago it would have made Theon bolt away of the room, now it just made smile in anticipation, little waves of arousal already climbing up his spine. When he was finally close enough to Theon, Robb gently pried the dirty tool out of Theon’s clasped fingers and sending it clatter into the sink. Then, he slid his arms around his boyfriend’s waist, pulling him flush against his chest, fingers stroking Theon’s back under his shirt, and pecked him once, twice over the lips.

“My hero.” He whispered hotly in Theon’s ear, nibbling the soft flesh between his teeth. Robb’s eyes were already dark, glinting with an exciting mixture of amusement and lust and Theon shivered with their unspoken promises.

“I’m sorry to remind you that I’m still here, that you have your whole bedroom for your kinky stuff and that the pancakes are cooling down.”

Theon barked out a laugh, when he turned back to his daughter, frowning at them from her seat at the table, her own pile of pancakes already in front of her. Robb’s hands were still warm against Theon’s back, leaving warm tingles wherever they stroked around the knobbles of his spine. And when he leaned to nest his head into Robb’s neck, inhaling his scent and smiling at Taura’s eyerolls from the other side of the kitchen, Theon knew he was happy now.

Finally, after so many years of struggle, he was happy.


End file.
